Microsoft has been making some under-the-radar moves with its search engine, and this one is of particular interest. The latest experiment from Bing shows a free shipping tag in the SERP that tells you the qualifying amount right then and there. You don’t have to click over to the site or even put your cursor on it.
Some may call it a minor change. We wouldn’t.
If you are an online retailer, you know the pain of cart abandonment. Any way to put expectations in front of a user before they get to your product page is something to pay attention to. For those of us running Microsoft Ads, it’s also a good read on what’s coming for the Bing shopping side of things.
So, what are we looking at?
In its present form, the label is plain text. A store with a $75 minimum for free shipping will have that “$75” show up in the listing. It’s as simple as that: the shopper knows what they need to do without having to leave Bing.
It’s a way to cut down on friction. People don’t like being blindsided at checkout. When the threshold is out in the open, you see fewer empty carts and more of the kind of clicks you want, rather than burning ad budget on someone who was never going to make the cut.
Khushal Bherwani, who has been on top of these kinds of changes, was the first to spot it. He points out that it’s a lot less cluttered than what we’ve seen from Bing before. Instead of tucking the info behind an icon, they’re making the number the star of the show.
We have seen Bing dabble with free shipping before, but not like this.
There was a time when you had to hover over a little truck to see the fine print. Fine for desktop, but a non-starter on mobile. Or they would just put “free shipping” by the URL and leave it at that. That doesn’t tell you much. This new version works on any device and gives you the answer you’re after.
Then there is the paid side of the house. If you look back to last year, Microsoft was toying with ad copy that said “Free Shipping on Qualified Orders.” This current test seems to be bringing that same kind of clarity to organic and shopping results. Put them together and you can see Microsoft is trying to make a unified system for how it signals free shipping.
And it is no small thing. E-commerce folks are well aware of the 70% cart abandonment rate; it’s a number that doesn’t budge. Why? Usually, it’s the unexpected cost. Almost half of the people who walk away from a cart say it’s because of a surprise fee or tax at the end. They like the item, they just didn’t like the final tab.
By showing the rules in the search result, Bing is pre-qualifying the customer. It’s a matter of transparency.
On top of that, there is the human element. Most of us will put an extra thing in the cart to avoid a shipping charge—80% of the time, according to some figures. With this display, Bing is handing retailers an easy upsell before the user has even made it to the website.
For anyone with a Microsoft Ads account or working in Bing Shopping, the takeaway is this: your free shipping policy is moving from the checkout to the search result. Make sure your threshold is set up to be as clear and as competitive as possible. Set your threshold too high and you may be putting up a wall for every would-be customer before they even give your brand a second thought. Then there’s the matter of click-through rates: a modest free shipping line can be a CTR magnet, but a steep one will put off the deal-seekers. When this makes its way to the masses, it will be on advertisers to keep a close watch on how it’s playing out.
You also have to be consistent. Whether Bing is getting its numbers from your site or your Microsoft Merchant Center, any gap between what the SERP shows and what you actually offer at checkout is a quick way to lose a shopper’s confidence. Nobody has time for a bait-and-switch when it comes to shipping.
Preparing Your Microsoft Ads
We’re in the testing phase, but there are some moves retailers can make now.
Start with an audit of your free shipping policy. Make sure it’s easy to find on your site; if Bing is going to scrape it, don’t make them work for it. Good structured data, a well-laid-out policy page, and a clean feed in the Merchant Center go a long way.
Put your threshold to the test. If you’re asking for $100 to get free shipping but the average order is $45, you’re probably leaving money on the table. You might want to lower the bar or put together some bundles to nudge people over it.
Take stock of your ad copy and extensions. Should Bing tie this into its ad platform in a more formal way, you’ll want to be set to take advantage of it. For now, a mention of free shipping in your ad description is an old trick that still works to drive clicks.
And don’t forget to check in on your Bing Webmaster and Merchant Center dashboards. These kinds of SERP features have a habit of appearing without much fanfare, and the ones who spot it first are the ones who profit.
FAQ
Is everyone on Bing seeing this?
Not yet. It’s a limited run. Microsoft likes to try things on a small scale before they go all in. If you don’t see it, don’t worry.
Organic, paid, or both?
Right now it seems to be in results with some shopping or merchant info, so you could see it in organic as well as in ads. They’ve been toying with similar text in paid ads on their own, so a merger is possible down the road.
Where is Bing finding this info?
Most likely from your feeds, the markup on your site, or your ad extensions. If you don’t put it out there in plain sight, they can’t show it.
Does it cost me more to advertise?
No. In fact, if it means you’re pre-qualifying your traffic, you might end up with better conversions and less wasted budget. That said, a high threshold in the SERP can be a turn-off and cut into your volume.
How is this different from what Google does?
Google has had its share of shipping labels and delivery estimates in Shopping for a while. But with a hard dollar figure, Bing is being a bit more pointed than some of Google’s more general badges. They’re after the same thing, though: less friction for the user.
Do I need to overhaul my policy?
Only if it isn’t working for you. If you have a lot of cart abandonment and your minimum is way above what people are spending, this feature will just put a spotlight on it. Tackle the root of the issue.
When can we expect a full release?
Nobody knows. Some of these tests fizzle out, others stick around for months. The smart play is to have your house in order now.
What about mobile?
It’s there. This is a step up from the old truck icon you had to hover over; the new label is right there in plain view on any device.
Can I say no to having my threshold shown?
Not at this point. Once it’s out of the lab, you’ll probably have some levers to pull in the Merchant Center or Webmaster Tools.
Bing is showing the wrong number for my store. Now what?
Go back to your source. Chances are there’s an error in your Merchant Center feed or the data on your site. Correct it and the SERP should follow suit.
